If it doesn't taste good, why eat it?

scallion

In the spirit of trying to eat all things local, I’m posting this recipe as snow peas are now available in our local fields. At the very least I know that Red Fire Farm has them because they’re on the list for CSA members for Pick Your Own crops this week. If they’re not available yet in your area, these crisp, flat peas are typically out in loose bins at most grocery stores.

Between its sweetness and its crunch, the snow pea is a great snack in raw form. They’re also fantastic steamed or stir fried, and they do not require the accompaniment of any sauce or spice. In this case, I’ve tossed them in a peanut sauce that is just a little sweet, a little savory and has a touch of heat. This dish is fine on its own, but would be great served over rice too.

Ingredients:

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 Tbsp sesame oil

2 Tbsp peanut butter

2 Tbsp rice vinegar

1-1/2 Tbsp soy sauce

1 Tbsp honey

2 medium cloves garlic, chopped

2-1/2 TBS peeled & grated fresh ginger

2 Tbsp water

pinch of cayenne to taste

Salt and pepper to taste

2 cups Snow peas, ends trimmed

1/2 cup minced scallion

Directions:

Bring a fry pan up to a medium heat and sauté the chicken breasts in sesame oil

When the breasts are cooked, remove them from the pan and set aside to rest while you prepare the sauce

Blend all of the remaining ingredients, except the scallion, together in a blender

Cut the rested chicken breasts up into bite-sized chunks and return them to the pan and toss with the snow peas, sauce and scallion

While perusing through my pile of recent magazine recipes I came across one from Food and Wine for “Crunchy Pork Kimchi Burgers” and I thought well, this sounds weird, but oddly good at the same time. Then I went to the Northampton Tuesday Market and there was a vendor sampling fresh kimchi which was nothing like the shelf-stable stuff that I had eaten in the past- a little less crunchy, a little less bitter, more sweet, and simply lovely. Just a hop-skip-and jump up from her stand was Mockingbird Farm who had ground pork for sale and I just knew that I had to give this recipe a try. I grabbed some baby spinach from Enterprise Farm and now had the makings for this lovely sounding dish, locally sourced. Since I was on a roll, and they looked fantastic, I grabbed some white turnips too (from Old Friends Farm)- I figured they’d be great for roasting.

Since I’ve eaten primarily grain-free since the beginning of this year, I adjusted the recipe to omit the flour and panko and obviously had a different end product than what was advertized in the magazine. I really loved the dish the way that I made it and will definitely make it again this same way.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon fresh ginger, peeled and grated

1 large garlic clove, pressed

2 scallions, chopped

1 lb. ground pork

3/4 cup finely chopped kimchi (I ran it through the food processor rather than hand-chopping)

Sprinkle of Kosher salt

Vegetable oil, for frying

10 oz. baby spinach

1/3 cup mayonnaise

1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

1 tablespoon soy sauce

sesame seeds (for garnish)

Directions

In a bowl combine the ginger, garlic, scallions, pork and kimchi with the salt

ginger, garlic, scallions, pork and kimchi with salt

Form the mixture into eight small patties, about half an inch thick (to get these all a uniform size, I used a number 2 scoop)

Add the patties and fry over moderate heat...

In a large skillet (cast iron if you’ve got it), heat 1/4 inch of vegetable oil. Add the patties and fry over moderate heat, turning once only, until you have a beautiful crisp on each side and there is no more pink visible from the outside(you want them to be cooked through)

Set aside to drain on paper towels and let the juices finish distributing

Pour off all of the vegetable oil from the skillet and add some toasted sesame oil and the baby spinach, season with salt and pepper and cook over a medium-high heat until wilted (about 1 minute)

baby spinach wilting in toasted sesame oil

In a small dish, mix the mayonnaise, sesame oil and soy sauce

Pile the spinach on plates and top with the sliders, drizzle with the sauce, sprinkle with sesame seeds and enjoy

High in protein and vitamin C this dish surprised us when it hit our tongues. Not that we thought it’d be gross or anything, we just didn’t have terribly high expectations. Succulent chunks of chicken, slightly crunchy bok choy, velvety shiitake mushrooms, a well-rounded flavor that’s slightly salty and powerful with ginger- this dish is lovely.

Ingredients:

2 TBS chicken broth

1 cup chopped scallions

2 TBS fresh minced ginger

2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized chunks

1½ cups sliced fresh shiitake mushrooms

4 cups chopped bok choy

2 TBS soy sauce

1 TBS rice vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Heat broth in a skillet

When the broth begins to steam, add scallions and sauté for 2 minutes

Add the ginger and sauté for another minute

Add chicken and continue to sauté

After 2-3 minutes add the shiitake mushrooms and bok choy and cook for another 3-4 minutes

Add soy sauce, rice vinegar, salt, and pepper

We opted to have this over brown rice but it would also be great over noodles, or wrapped up in a tortilla.